Proud, Empty, Hollow Things That You Are
by KayBeth13
Summary: 19 year old Amara survived the auction incident, but was caught escaping by Nuada. Three months after the battle that took their lives, Nuada and Nuala are resurrected, but how will Nuada react to Amara now he has now choice but to partner with her?
1. Encounters

_Hey, this is Kerryyuy again! I'm actually doing a first here, this is my very first oneshot, so I'm really hoping that I do a good job of it. _

_If I get a good enough response (5 or more requests) then I will write a sequel, but it will only be done if you want it. Otherwise, I will keep this as a oneshot and focus on my series fics._

_Thanks, and please review!!!_

I looked around the auction house, totally disregarding the rich, snobby people all around me, spending their thousands on a bunch of priceless artefacts. Even my dad was here, caught up in the greed of owning such precious items. After my mom died two years ago when I was 17, my dad let the money she left go to his head, turning him into someone no better than any other person with money and power. People like that were generally just proud, empty, hollow.

I sighed deeply in frustration. Why was I here again? Oh yeah, because dad had decided to but me something here for my birthday, which was actually last month, but as usual, he had forgotten, so I knew that this wasn't really a birthday present, it was a 'please forgive me for I am an idiot' present. We had been here now for nearly three hours, and I hadn't yet seen a single thing I liked, I didn't even want anything. These artefacts belonged where they were found or in a museum, not in somebody's private collection. Selfish people. All I wanted to do was go home, and read one of my many books about the paranormal. My uncle Thomas worked for the BPRD, a bureau of the government that investigated the paranormal on a day to day basis.

I had only really spoken to my uncle a few times, but enough for me to tell him how fascinating I found the paranormal and that when I reached the age of 21, I was going to join the bureau. Dad said no of course, as he didn't believe in 'such nonsense' as he put it. Obviously. That's why it surprised me that we were here, nothing paranormal here, is there? Like this next item coming out, some bracelet said to be able to translate any language. I believed it, but I heard the snort of disbelief from my dad, which angered me.

"dad? I'm going for a walk, look to see if there's anything here that remotely interests me."

He ignored me, which was to be predicted, waving me off with his hand, then glaring at me as the auctioneer mistook his wave as a bid and he had now won the bracelet for 500,000 dollars.

I was still trying not to giggle as I moved out of the room. The first thing I did was move to the bathroom, where I had hidden my bag that contained my trainers and a pair of jeans. I wasn't going back, I was going home, so as soon as I retrieved my bag, I pulled on my jeans and replaced my heels with my trainers. Just as I turned to the mirror to put my hair up in a ponytail, the lights flickered, and went out, followed by a mass of people screaming. I was too scared to move out of the bathroom, but my mind decided that I was going to find out what the commotion was about. I barely reached the door, when this giant…well, from here, I couldn't tell if it was a troll or an ogre, but whatever it was, it was heading my way, sporting two very dead security guards, one under each of its arms. I jumped and hid behind a curtain, just as it went crashing into the auction room.

I heard more terrified screams as I watched the thing throw the guards into the room, before a retractable hand scurried back to its owner, that I could now identify as a troll. I gasped as I took in the sight of the auctioneer on the floor, dead. I noticed the hand attach itself back to the troll.

"cool" I whispered.

I didn't think it was cool for long, especially once I noticed the man accompanying it. No, not a man at all. Long white hair that gradually turned to gold at the end, pointed ears, the royal seal of Bethmora…oh crap. It was an elf, and to be wearing the royal seal…it could only mean that it was the prince. If only I could remember his name… whatever it was, this meant double, no, triple crap even, I froze in my space behind the curtain, just as the prince spoke.

"SIT DOWN! You proud, empty, hollow…things that you are!"

Wow. He had pretty much verbalised what I had been thinking just minutes earlier. I didn't catch much more, but enough to know that it wasn't a good idea to stick around. I began to move towards the window, but the prince and the troll came out of the room. I ducked behind a table, just as he moved past me.

"you can hide from me but the tooth fairies will get you" he calmly stated before jumping out the window.

I moved out from my space. Tooth fairies? Dread shot through me faster than I could blink. If that was true, then I couldn't go back for dad. He would probably be dead by now. As if he heard me, I heard a yell.

"Amara? Mara?! Amar…ah!"

"dad" I whispered, a few tears falling.

I heard a noise moving towards me and saw one of the tooth fairies wonder into the room. Shit. I ran to the same window that the prince had just exited from, and launched myself against the balcony outside. I glanced down. Man, that was a drop. Luckily, there was a piece of guttering running down the wall, and without even thinking about it, I grabbed it and began to shimmy down. Halfway down though, I heard a grating noise and looked up to see the tubing falling away from the wall. I gathered my strength and pushed off the wall, landing with a crunch, screaming as I felt my arm snap underneath me.

I immediately covered my mouth with my uninjured hand, as I caught a glimpse of the prince as he entered an alleyway. He looked back and saw me, then looked up at the building he had just left. He must've noticed the guttering hanging off the wall and me cradling my arm, as I could metaphorically see the light bulb switch on above his head as realisation dawned on him. My eyes opened in fear as he began to move towards me, but something stirred in my stomach. He grabbed me before I could run, and I screamed again as he had grabbed my broken arm.

"let me go!"

"No! how did you escape?" he demanded.

I kicked him in the stomach, which caused him to grunt and drop me momentarily. I took the opportunity to run, but I was stopped as the troll grabbed me.

The prince stood up and gingerly walked over to me, grabbing my hair and yanking it backwards to make me look him in the eyes. My stomach fluttered again, and I felt sick as a pressure began building up in my head at the same time. The prince slapped me once, hard and sharp, and I hissed as my head snapped to one side.

"again, I demand- how did you escape?"

"the guttering" I stated, refusing to let him win.

I think I surprised him with my reply, especially as I locked eyes with his and spoke without fear, as his eyes hardened and narrowed before he released me, throwing me to the floor. I cried out as it jarred my arm, and I heard him give a small, almost inaudible snigger.

"pathetic human"

I glared up at him, only to find he was no longer there. He must've left while I was fighting back the tears from the pain of my arm. I heard the sound of an engine approach, and when I looked up, a police car was just approaching the building, followed by a couple of news vans. That was why he left me, not because he wanted to, but because he had to to avoid any other humans. I moved out of the way, to not draw any attention to myself, and shortly after, what looked like a garbage truck pulled up. That could only have meant one thing.

Uncle Thomas and the BPRD were here. And they were in danger.


	2. Aftermath

After I witnessed the BPRD heading into the building I had just exited, I ran towards my uncle, who was currently talking to the press, and told him what was up there. Of course, he forgot to actually take a radio with him so it was almost inevitable that something was going to go wrong, which it did in the form of Red being blown through a window and landing on a squad car, completely destroying it. I giggled slightly, but one look from Uncle Thomas shut me up pretty darn quickly.

It wasn't until the commotion had died down and we were all going back to the BPRD lodgings, that somebody, AKA Abe, noticed that my arm was severely broken. As soon as he pointed it out, I had Uncle Thomas, Liz, Abe and Red all fussing over me, trying to help me and comfort me, but I ended up screaming and telling them to all leave me alone as they were making it worse. It was then that Thomas gave me a funny look.

"Exactly how did that happen?" he asked me.

I fell silent and turned my back on them. Abe must've done his thing with his hand, as he suddenly gasped.

"Oh my! I am so sorry Amara"

I shrugged my shoulders and refused to look up at any of the guys as Abe explained to them what he had just seen. I heard the shocked gasp of Thomas as he realised his brother was now dead, and I swallowed the lump in my throat that had suddenly appeared. A gentle hand rested on my shoulder and when I looked up, it was Red, who gave me a friendly squeeze and reassuring smile. I gave him a weak smile back and stayed silent for the rest of the journey back to what was going to be my home from now on. Not that I minded, I mean, I had intended on coming here anyway, just not so soon, and for the wrong reasons.

Once we arrived, I was taken straight to the medical wing. Five hours and an operation later, I woke up in the recovery room, with Liz on one side of me and Thomas standing at the end of my bed, a worried frown creasing his head.

"Hey guys" I said softly.

They both looked at me, and the first thing Liz did was hug me. I hugged her back as best as I could before pulling away. I looked at the cast on my arm and frowned.

"Soooo…how long do I have to have this thing on for?"

"Around nine weeks" Thomas replied.

I rolled my eyes and nodded, before asking if I could be shown where I was going to be staying so that I could get a good night's sleep. Liz offered, but Thomas asked if he could show me as he needed to speak to me. We both nodded and Liz went as I stood up.

Once he showed me my new room, Thomas turned to face me. He didn't really say anything, just placed one hand on either shoulder and looked at my face.

"You're always welcome here, you know that?"

"Yeah, thanks uncle Thomas. I'll help out as much as I can, I do know a lot about the paranormal."

He gave me a look that was hard to decipher, but he then shook his head in a defeated way and smiled.

"I know you do. And I know you are one hell of a fighter too, so I can tell you'll be a great asset to the team."

I thanked him and slid into my room, making sure that the first thing I did was look at where all the furniture was placed.

In the middle of the laminate floor, there was a double bed and along one of the walls, there was a bookcase. Then there were a set of three steps that led up to another level, where I could see a huge wardrobe and chest of drawers as well as a desk and a huge floor to ceiling window. Finally, I could see a door that I knew led to the ensuite bathroom that all rooms here had. Straight away, I knew what I was going to do with this room. I was going to put the bed and bookcase up on the upper level with everything else, so that I could use the lower floor as my own training area. It wasn't very big, but I wasn't very good at training with lots of people watching. I decided to ask Abe if he'd mind me using the library to train. Before I'd do anything though, I had to get my arm healed, but before even that, I needed sleep.

Two days later, my arm throbbed as pain shoot through it. As I made my way down to the cafeteria, I noticed that the majority of the main team were missing. In fact the only person I actually came across was Thomas.

"Hey, uncle Thomas, where are the others?"

"We had problems at the troll market last night, so they're all having a rest."

I nodded and headed off to the library. I had only been here once, but for some reason, I remember the library clearly, and I also remember seeing one book in particular that I knew would help me now, but I needed to find it first.

When I reached the library, I ran over to where I remembered the book to be, and as soon as my eyes saw it, I knew I had found the one. I pulled it out and as I turned to head back to my room, I jumped back and dropped my book in shock as I came face to face with a pair of gold eyes.

"Oh my, I am so sorry that I startled you!" it was a woman, well, that was obvious anyway, especially as she was wearing a bright blue dress.

"It's ok, I thought you were somebody else." I stammered.

She smiled warmly and picked my book up for me, and as I took it off her, my hand brushed hers, and her eyes shone in understanding.

"I see, you thought I was m brother Nuada?"

"How did you know that? Wait- your brother? That means you are princess Nuala then?"

"Yes I am. I see you know about my race."

"I know a lot yes. I find it fascinating."

She smiled at me again, and I told her I had to leave. As I moved out of the room, I noticed Abe entering in the upper level.

I ran back to my room and the second the door was shut, I began skimming through the book. Something none of my family knew apart from me and my mom was that mom actually originated from Bethmora herself. She fell in love with a human, and so was banished from ever going back. When she was alive, she used to tell me story upon story of her life there, and used to show me many pictures of the land. She also taught me about healing. She was a healer when she was in Bethmora, and so knew how to use virtually any herb in existence to heal virtually any disease. She used to have a copy of this book. It was a very thick leather novel with an emerald green cover bound with gold threading. The whole book was written in Elvish, so it was going to take me slightly longer than normal to read as I wasn't as fluent in Elvish as I was in English. In this book, it listed virtually every herb in existence along with its healing properties.

A few hours later, I had finally reached the page I needed, which had a list of herbs that were specifically designed to repair bones. I made a quick note of the herbs needed, then moved over to the bookcase, where my books had been transferred from my dad's house along with all my other stuff. I pulled out a book on crystal healing and flipped through for the best crystals that would work with the herbs. I eventually chose amethyst, then picked one of my amethysts out of my box of crystals.

Just as I was putting my book away, I heard singing coming from somewhere in the building, and instantly recognised Red's voice. Then I realised that Abe was singing too, and as I moved to change into my khaki shorts and a black vest top, I found myself smiling and humming along with the song. A few minutes later, I couldn't hear the music they were playing as I had switched my own music on so that I could do a bit of light excerside with my staff, but not too much that could damage my arm. As I finished warming up and prepared to do a few more exercise, the alarm went off, but it was different to normal. Normally, an amber light flashed, but this time, it was a red one. Flicking through my memories, I remembered that red meant there was an intruder in the building. As soon as I realised this, I threw a pair of combat boots on and switched my wooden staff for my expandable metal one.

I reached the library just after Red arrived, and as I heard Red's comment about "Your Royal Ass-ness" my blood ran cold. I pushed my way through the group of agents until I reached the front, and my jaw dropped as I saw Nuada standing there, a knife against his sister's face, both of their cheeks bleeding in perfect synchronisation. He glanced over at the group and as his eyes met mine, I could tell he recognised me, but it wasn't until I moved slightly and my arm with the cast on it came into view, that he suddenly realised exactly who I was.

"The girl from the auction" he stated.

I nodded, and ignored the confused look Red gave me. I offered to let Red borrow my staff to fight the prince, but he shrugged it off, preferring to use his stone arm as his weapon. Unfortunately, Nuada was too much, and as Red collapsed to the floor and Liz launched herself at him, I ran to where the prince had been standing seconds earlier, only to find he had vanished. This was not good.


	3. Desperation

I stood there in shock as I watched Red crying out in agony as Abe tried to grab the spear end and pull it out, only for it to bury further into his skin.

"Damn it Abe, pull it out!" Liz cried out in desperation.

"He can't, Liz. It is an elven spear, so if you try to pull it out, it will bury further towards his heart and will eventually kill him." I answered as calmly as I could.

Liz looked at me and the absolute despair broke my heart. I wanted to do something to help, but I knew that there was nothing I could do. If I had been a full blooded elf, I would have been able to take hold of the blade and pull it out without harming Red any further, but all I could do was stand there in desperation, cursing the fact that I was half human, and wishing with all my heart that there was something I could do. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and I ran out of the room, my eyes blurring as I moved. I wiped at my eyes and continued to run until I reached a door at the end of a corridor, stopping me from going any further. I instantly recognised the room as the library and I threw the doors open.

Five agents were in there taking photos of the 'crime scene' but one look and command from me had three of them leaving rather quickly. Two stayed behind though and refused to leave.

"Why should we follow your orders? You aren't of a higher rank than I am."

"Oh yeah? I'm sorry, but who is on team Alpha? Who is one of the special operatives? Whose uncle runs this bureau? I am by far above you, so you will do as I say, and you WILL leave. Unless of course you want me to go and get Liz, who I'm sure would be happy to help me out here."

The pair of them paled before swiftly exiting. I laughed softly to myself as they shut the door behind them. Then, I turned round to look around the room, see if anything had been left to show where Nuada had gone with Nuala, and pretty soon, I moved some papers off the table, only to notice the scorched marks. As I looked closer I noticed they formed a map. I quickly grabbed a piece of paper off the floor and after a long search, finally found a pen, then placed the paper on top of the map and quickly traced it, before leaving the room before uncle Thomas could come and yell at me for using him as a tool of my authority. I didn't want to use him to get my way, but if I hadn't, I know for a fact I wouldn't have been able to step another foot inside the library.

I moved over to my room and as soon as I deciphered where Nuada had gone, I ran down to find Liz, only to have her walk past me as the human fireball. I raised an eyebrow in question, and caught sight of Uncle Thomas out of the corner of my eye. He looked very speechless and I smirked as Abe filled me in on what I had missed. Then, we decided to steal a helicopter to save Red, but when we met with Krauss, I panicked thinking we were done for, so imagine my shock when he was the one who told us to screw the rulebook. Pretty soon we found ourselves in Ireland, talking to a legless goblin, who I had to admit made me laugh when Liz described her 'Magic Eyes' only to have him state that he already had binoculars. My laughter quickly died though as e were shown into Bethmora, and as Liz and Red were taken into a room, and we were left outside, I took the time to look around at Bethmora, or more what was left of it anyway.

.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Bethmora was not like my mother described it. She always told me that it was a colourful and cheery place always filled with music and laughter, but the sight in front of me froze me to the floor in shock. Blackness filled every nook and cranny, the sounds of laughter long gone, just an empty echo remained. The feeling of dread and morbidity filled me, and I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself as if I could feel the pain that drove the elves into hiding and abandoning their homes. A hand gently grasped my shoulder and I looked up at Abe, suddenly noticing that I was actually crying.

"Is everything ok?" He asked.

"For so long I've wished to see the land where my mother's people are from and where she grew up, but now I'm here, all I see is decay and destruction, and I can't help but wonder how it came to being like this."

Abe stared at me for a few seconds longer, and I think he was about to say something else when the door from behind us reopened, and out stepped Red, his usual cocky smirk in place, pulling his bandages off.

"Let's get to work"

I had to grin at his cheek. It was so good to have him back, and to see the look on Liz's face, the almost glow about her, made me smile even more. I was fully aware that she was pregnant, and hearing Red mutter to Abe as he passed that he was going to be a daddy, told me that Liz had finally gathered the courage to tell him. I stepped up to stand next to Krauss and we all headed towards the fight...

_You all know what happened next, so I'm not going to write the whole end, I'm just going to skip straight ahead in the next chapter. Please keep with me because this story will get better, I promise!_


	4. Mediation

_**I am so so so sorry about the lateness of this update! This chapter is dedicated to anybody who has so patiently waited for the next chapter! So, here it is, chapter 4!**_

**Did they have to be so bloody loud? What the hell was going on out there? I'm going to be hurting someone soon! These were the first thoughts I had when I was woken from my sleep at 6 am. Did they not realise that I only got back from Ireland just four hours ago? I growled and dragged myself out of bed, glaring at the door the whole time. When I eventually opened it, I immediately screamed and jumped back as uncle Thomas came flying towards me, and a headache burst in my head from the sudden noise.**

"**Dude! What the hell!?" I yelled.**

**All commotion stopped and three people along with Red all turned to look at me. I'm guessing the look on my face gave away how angry I was as two agents were very quick to vanish. Red seemed amused by my mood, and Thomas was still sitting on the floor next to my door. I frowned and crossed my arms before swaying slightly with fatigue and moving so that I ended up sleepily leaning against the wall behind me.**

"**So, what's up?" I asked, much calmer now all the noise had died down.**

**Red looked at me with his smirk still in place, and I felt my eye twitch in irritation. I loved the big ape like a brother, but at that moment I wanted nothing more than to wipe the smirk off his face. **

"**Well, Liz and I came back here to collect our things and to arrange care of my cats, when Manning here decided to try and stop us from leaving. We were in the process of saying no when you opened your door."**

**I shook my head, no longer annoyed, but still not in the best of moods.**

"**Did you have to come this way though? I was sleeping" I answered with a pout.**

**Red chuckled and ruffled my hair before giving me a hug to apologise. I hugged him back and smiled as we pulled away. I then turned to Uncle Thomas, who was standing up, and by the look on his face, I could tell that he was about to start yelling. I shot him a look that told him to be quiet, and for once, he actually kept his mouth shut, although I had a suspicion that he only did it because he wasn't in the mood to test my anger out. **

"**So what exactly was being said?"**

"**Well, apparently the BPRD think it's safer for us to stay here and stay in the team."**

**I could sort of see their point there. Red had shelter, free food and safety here that he wouldn't get in the outside world. I told him this and he gave me such a strong look of shock, I had to give him an apologetic smile.**

"**Look, I'm not saying that you have to stay as a part of the team. I'm just saying that you could stay here as civilians and live your lives, but knowing that you, Liz and the kids will always be safe. Plus, I'd miss you too much if you left, and the cats would all miss you too."**

**I could see the cogs whirring in his mind, and his face dropped in thought. Thomas was looking at me with a strange look and I almost scoffed. So, he didn't like that I managed to do what he couldn't? Tough luck I'm afraid. After a couple of minutes, Red's face lit up and he gave me a small smile before rushing off, calling out to Liz. I rolled my eyes playfully before heading back to my room, afraid that if I stayed standing for a moment longer, I was going to pass out. I made sure to give Thomas another glare before slamming the door and collapsing on my bed, falling into unconsciousness within mere seconds of my head hitting the pillow.**

**The next time I woke up, it was because I wanted to, not because some idiot had woken me. I sat up and when I lifted my arm up to rub the sleep out of my eyes, I noticed they felt very dead and heavy. Once my vision cleared, I looked at the clock on my nightstand and my jaw dropped when I saw the date and time. June 15th**** 11:18 am. Whoa, when I fell asleep after Thomas and Red's argument, it had only been 14****th**** June and it was 06:30 am, which meant that I'd been asleep solidly for twenty nine hours! I climbed out of bed, my whole body feeling heavy with the amount of sleep I'd had, and I was quick to shower and dress before hurrying down to the cafeteria as my stomach came to life and told me I was extremely hungry. Arriving at the cafeteria, I noticed that only a couple of agents were around, so for once, I was able to sit and eat in peace and quiet. **

**As soon as I finished, I made my way over to the library. Abe was standing in front of the books, probably deciding which one to read next, but as he heard me come in, he turned to face me.**

"**Ah, you're finally awake."**

**I laughed slightly and rubbed the back of my neck. **

"**Heh, yeah. I can't believe I slept so long" I admitted.**

**Abe tilted his head to one side and looked at me.**

"**Well, none of us were in Ireland long enough to adjust to the time difference, and then coming back here too would have really interfered with your biological systems and that would have made your mind and body shut down so that you could recuperate."**

**I blinked for a few seconds, not quite sure exactly how to respond, so I just moved on to another topic.**

"**I'm surprised to see you here though, I thought you quit along with the others?"**

"**Ah, yeas. You see, I did resign, but Hellboy came in not long after 7 am yesterday morning to say that he and Liz had discussed it and have decided to stay here, but they would no longer be a part of the team. I for one am quite glad as I can stay here and continue to research, and Mr Krauss has also decided to stay so he can continue his research. And as you're wondering, yes I will be staying on the team, but I won't be going out in the field anymore."**

**I couldn't hold back the grin, nor could I hold back the happiness as I jumped forward and hugged him before running off in the direction of Red and Liz's room. **

**I knocked on the door, and the second Liz answered, I hugged her too. Liz hugged me back, and when I pulled away she gave me a knowing smile.**

"**So, I guess you found out we're staying, huh?"**

"**Uh-huh. Is Red around?"**

**Liz laughed softly and shook her head.**

"**He is, but he's still asleep. Along with the jet lag and the fighting, he's been through the most out of all of us."**

**I nodded, completely understanding.**

"**That's fine. Hey, d'you want to come with me to go and see Krauss? I want to say to him too that I'm glad he's staying. He may be slightly crazy and strange, even for us, but I've really grown a liking to him."**

**Liz nodded and before long, we were knocking on his lab door. He answered and let us in. I told him I was glad he was staying and the way his body moved told me he would have smiled if he still had a face. After that, he and Liz struck up a conversation about Liz's pregnancy and out of interest, I found myself walking around the extremely large laboratory, reading the notes on each thing he was working on. Fortunately, I had done a lot of science before and so I found the reports easy to read. As I was reading one of the folders, I suddenly noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look at it, and as I realised exactly what it was, the folder dropped onto the floor at my feet and I stumbled backwards in shock, bumping into one of the table and sending both myself and the contents crashing onto the floor as I let out a yell.**


	5. Shock

_I am so sorry for the delay! Please forgive me! Also, a friend of mine pointed out that my stories are better in 3__rd__ person so from now on, this story will be in 3__rd__ person rather than 1__st__! Enjoy!_

Her scream must have been loud as not a second later, Krauss and Liz came bursting into the room. As she gathered her wits, Amara spun to face Krauss, all feelings of friendship gone.

"What is THAT doing here?" She hissed, pointing to the table behind her.

Liz looked to were her arm faced and gasped, turning a wide eyed gaze to the doctor. He shuffled slightly before answering

"Before I explain I must say I am as against this as any of you. Apparently the bosses decided he would be a valuable member of the team and so have ordered me to find a way to revive him. They know that there is enough technology now to revert fossils back to living creatures as long as there is enough DNA from a living specimen of that fossil to do so."

Amara took a deep, calming breath before answering, knowing that she was not going to like the response she was going to get.

"And let me guess, in this case, the living specimen here is me as I'm the only person around with elf blood, right?"

Krauss nodded and before he had time to say anything else, she had already turned and left the room. Liz and Krauss looked at each other and the pair both winced at the same time as a loud scream of "THOMAS MANNING!" filtered through into the room shortly after.

It didn't take Amara long to find her uncle and when Manning saw the look on her face, he instantly paled and started stammering.

"Umm, hey...honey...h...how are you?"

She glared harder, making him shake even more.

"Don't you pull that crap on me. Tell me why prince f-ing Nuada is lying on a table in Krauss's lab and if you tell me it's because he'd being brought back to life I will be strangling you."

Thomas moved behind his desk where he knew Amara couldn't reach him so easily and she let out a low growl as she waited for his answer. He gulped and glanced at the door but she was quick to move next to it so if he planned on running he would have to get past her. Which wasn't happening if she had anything to do with it. She folded her arms and continued to glare until he responded.

"Well, you see...my bosses felt that if he were brought back, then he could be forced into being a member of the BPRD. He would be injected with a small substance that meant if he tried to escape or kill any innocent civilians, then it would send an electric shock through him, almost killing him. Eventually he'll just accept and help us."

Amara stood there silently blinking for a few seconds, before throwing her head back and laughing at the audacity of the situation. If the bosses thought this was going to work then they were thicker than she originally thought. She saw Thomas giving her a worried glance and she fought to control her laughter.

"I'm sorry, but this is just too stupid to work. I'll let you use my DNA to revive him but I refuse to be a part of it, got it?"

Thomas could only nod in stunned silence and she turned to leave the room, stopping only to say one last thing.

"Oh, and if he finds out it was my DNA you used, it won't just be his wrath you'll be facing."

She could only laugh as she heard the thud of him dropping to the floor, probably suffering from heart failure. Or a stroke. Maybe even both, who knows really. Right at that moment, her head was swimming and she just wanted to get some air.

It was Red who found her an hour later, sitting out on the grounds, bathing in the sunshine. As his shadow obscured her vision, Amara looked up and grinned.

"Hey, you big lug. Come join me." He said, patting the ground beside her.

Red looked at her for a few seconds, before sitting next to her. They sat in companionable silence but Red was quick to break it.

"You don't fool me, you know." He stated.

Amara raised an eyebrow.

"How so?" she asked, generally curious.

"Well, you're abnormally pale, you were grasping the grass too tightly to be comfortable and the look in your eyes shows that you're scared of something. So, what's up?"

Amara sighed, for a moment wishing, not for the first time, that Hellboy was as dumb as he looked. She leaned in and propped herself up against his arm.

"Did you know they have Prince Nuada's body in the lab?"

Red grit his teeth and she felt him tense.

"Yeah, I did. I found out a few hours ago. I guess you found out they want to use your DNA to revive him?"

"Yep. I'm scared, Red. Last time I faced him, he had just killed my father and made the break in my arm worse than it already was. He then tried to kill us all in Ireland, and almost killed you. What if he succeeds this time? I know they said he'll have a chip or something in him to control him but I really can't see it working."

Red put an arm round the shaking girl and gave her a brotherly hug.

"Listen here you. It will be fine. All his weapons have been locked away and will stay that way until we know that we can trust him. I don't like the idea either however if it actually turns out to be successful, he could be a great ally to have."

Amara nodded in defeat.

"I guess. I just wish it didn't have to be my DNA used, you know? I wish there was somebody else here who had elf blood in them."

Red said nothing, just held her tighter against his body.


End file.
